Korn drummer talks about new album and U.S. tour, which wraps up Friday in Wichita

Korn is one of those rock bands that has transcended its radio hits from the mid-1990s like “Freak on a Leash” or “A.D.I.D.A.S.” While the group continues to play those songs in concert, it has emerged as something more than just another nu-metal band. Korn is now a rock brand whose popularity remains strong nearly 30 years into its career with the release of its 14th album “Requiem.” Korn will wrap up its U.S. tour with a stop in Wichita on Friday, April 1, at Intrust Bank Arena with special guests Chevelle and Code.

Korn drummer Ray Luzier, who joined the band in 2007, spoke to The Eagle about the tour, the new album, and what it was like playing with Van Halen legend David Lee Roth.

How’s the tour going?

The tour has been really great. We’re so excited to be back out here. It’s not normal yet, but it’s a little more normal than it was last summer when we toured. It was great to see people’s smiling faces and have interaction again with the crowds. Everyone thought [the pandemic] would be two, three months, maybe four months tops. And then it just kept going and going. [Concerts are] too needed out there. It’s too therapeutic. People need that release to go to a show, to rock out and get your aggressions out. And we need it, too. We’re fans, too. Just because we’re in the band doesn’t mean we’re not massive fans. Because we are. [The pandemic] messed us all up, you know? I think there’s a new appreciation now that we’re all back.

Wichita marks the end of the U.S. tour before Korn heads to Europe. Do you approach the final stop or a break from touring any differently?

You just happen to be the last on the stop, so that’s always kind of good though. We seem to go nuts in the first show and the last show, just because it’s that last hurrah kind of thing, especially with [opening bands] Chevelle and Code Orange, who are good buddies of ours. We always like to give a good send off, so that’s one lucky thing about you guys.

Did the band approach recording “Requiem” any differently with the pandemic?

Yeah, “Requiem” was awesome to make because we didn’t have any pressure. We didn’t have any labels or management saying, “Hey, we only have a couple weeks to do this, a couple weeks to do that, we have to get back on the road.” One good thing about the pandemic was we all got to spend time with our family and our kids.

Another great thing was you can stop us from playing live music and congregating in masses, but you can’t stop us from writing music and creating. And that was a beautiful thing about “Requiem,” because we just would get together. [Guitarist] Head and I live in Nashville and the rest of the guys live in LA. Head and I would fly out to Bakersfield and casually get together as just brothers and just write stuff. There was no rush. We would go home for a couple weeks and get back together and say, “OK, we like this, or this was not that good. Let’s put this with this.” It was a nice way to do it for a change instead of like, “Well, that’s good enough. Let’s just go.” We don’t half-ass anything. We definitely give it our all. But this record was really special because we wrote and tracked I think 16 or 17 tunes and only nine made the record. . . . Everyone has to agree on the strongest material, so I think that’s what makes this new record so special because of that process.

I have to assume that it’s nice to approach recording slightly differently.

Yeah, exactly. We were always writing stuff and always getting together. Obviously everyone was in a strange state through the pandemic, but we had a different appreciation for everything and what we do when we got together. For a band that’s been around this long — I’ve been in [Korn] for 15 years now and they’re pushing 30 — it’s really special to still be able to do this at this point in our lives and this point in our careers. A lot of bands, as you know, have a 5–10 year span maybe. Korn is very extraordinary. It’s more of a brand now than a band. It’s a really great thing to be a part of.

It seems like most bands slow down their album output after a few decades, but Korn has not slowed the output at all. How have you managed to maintain focus and creativity?

I think it’s because we’re all lifers in this. This isn’t just a side gig to us. It’s truly our lives. It’s in our blood. It’s hard to keep bands going. [Korn bassist] Fieldy is not with us this tour and he wasn’t with us the last tour. Everyone has, you know, sometimes personal things to take care of. But with the level of success that Korn has had, I mean they sold 43 million records before I got the gig in 07. Yeah, that’s pretty ginormous.

I have friends in bands that are our age and they’re just like, “Oh, let’s get this over with. Let’s do the show.” We’re not that way. We really love it. We thoroughly can’t wait to hit the deck and really give it our all. So I think that’s what separates us from other bands, too.

Before you joined Korn, you played with (Van Halen’s) David Lee Roth. Could you share any memories from working with an icon like Diamond Dave?

Oh yeah, Dave is definitely one of the highlights of my career. I grew up on a big farm outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for 18 years. I was pretty secluded back there so I only listened to AC/DC, Rush, Van Halen, Kiss, all the bands in the late 70s. I had the picture of David Lee Roth hanging on my wall, like literally a door size from the Us festival. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever meet that guy, let alone being in a band with the guy playing “Hot for Teacher” and “Panama” and “Beautiful Girls.” All the Van Halen hits.

Just being in a band with him there wasn’t one night that went by that I didn’t say, “That’s David Lee Roth in front of me.” You never get used to it. He’s a very eccentric human being, not the easiest to get along with at times, but I learned a lot. He definitely schooled me. He showed me to be a showman and not just a drummer who has that waiting-for-the-bus look on their face. People pay money to see a live show. Give them a show. So what would you want to see in the audience? I never thought of my playing that way. I’m thinking, “Oh yeah, I wouldn’t want to see a boring drummer up there. I want to see somebody really into it and feeling what he’s doing.” He definitely changed me for the better.

What can fans expect to see when Korn plays Intrust Bank Arena on April 1st?

Well, it’s going to be great. I mean, you’re going to see us well-rehearsed. I always like the shows towards the end of the tour because our gears are greased up and we’re moving. We don’t do a lot of rehearsals before tours, so sometimes the first few shows are our rehearsals. We’re really excited to play those new [songs] every night because it’s weird when you write them in studio and you’re in this quiet setting when you record them. Playing them live in front of people is a totally different experience. It’s really great to play the four off “Requiem” and then, of course, the classics. The hits. And we’re playing something off “Untouchables.” This marks the 20th anniversary for that album. We’re doing “No One There” off that, which is great. And just to me, it’s a well-rounded show. It flows really nicely.

Korn (with Chevelle and Code Orange)

When: Friday, April 1st

Where: Intrust Bank Arena

Tickets: Starting at $49 at at www.selectaseat.com